Her Own TARDIS: The Bend
by the.nerd.voice
Summary: Third in the Andrea series. While Time Lady truths continue to dawn on the only biological child of The Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith, her behavior grows increasingly erratic and she forces friendship with an unlikely source. However, does this all fall on her, or is the Doctor to blame as well? ((Please read the others or you're going to be VERY lost. Promise, they aren't too long))
1. Chapter 1

" _You don't need to know who I am, or where I come from. You'll find out soon enough and I don't want to mess with the time-space continuum." The young woman grinned toward him, "It doesn't matter anyway. You're going to attempt to go home now, despite the lack of safety, you'll get there and you'll immediately regenerate. You won't remember me even slightly."_

" _I'm unsure of how you know the information that you do, but I thank you greatly for your assistance, beautiful stranger." The man's poofy white hair jiggled as he shook his head. Adjusting the buttons of his navy velvet blazer, he salutes her before climbing into his blue box._

" _See you later, Dad." The woman mumbled, saluting him back before she made her way back to her own time machine._

"When are we off to this time?" Sarah Jane Smith held onto her husband's arm as he adjusted what he needed to on the TARDIS dashboard, humming with her own amusement at her own joke.

"Eighteen-hundreds London. My favorite time period is recent human years." The Doctor grinned, his grey eyebrows raising slightly with excitement.

"I miss my husband. Can't you drop us off before going there?" Andrea Smith-Langer sits in a comfortable chair her father had on the upper level of the control room, her nearly three-year-old daughter roams around the area as if it's her home away from home.

"No!" He shouts toward her, "You can go back at any time, just not this time. There are methods for-"

"A vortex manipulator would not be safe for Janey and you know that." She motions to the toddler, "Or safe for anyone, really. Especially when traveling through time. Buildings pop up all over the place. You know that."

"Drea, your father finds this important. I know he can be impossible, but I'm sure there's a reason he wants us to meet these people. It will only be a few more days...at least, seem like a few more days." Sarah Jane moves away from the man and climbs the stairs to be near the young woman. "We'll be arriving just a day or two later than when we left."

"It's been nearly two weeks." Drea curves her top lip in a slight snarl, "I know it won't be long for him. I know."

The elder woman gently strokes her daughter's hair from her eyes, "We're going to have fun. Shall we go to the wardrobe and chose some time-appropriate attire?"

"I doubt Dad's going to have anything for Janey."

"You'd be surprised." Sarah Jane smirks, pulling at her daughter's hand to follow her.

" _I've solved it!" The Doctor called out, running through the house until finally catching sight of his daughter, "Junior, I know exactly how to-"_

" _You're able to tell me things without yelling, you know." Drea leaned back against the sofa, laptop in front of her as she typed, "I'm working right now."_

" _The..." He attempted to calm himself down with a deep breath before continuing, "The brain synapses that are blocking the transmissions of these incredibly important memories, have a way to know that they're safe. Your mind has the ability to forget the things it believes to be...less than happy thoughts."_

 _She paused, slowly closing her laptop before setting it on the table before her and folding her arms, "I'm listening."_

" _All you need to be able to do is to see your mother, or know her presence is near you. For instance, you know she's currently in the attic, doing the same thing you're doing down here."_

" _And not paying any attention to you. Tragic." The young woman teases him, knowing he's never satisfied when the woman's mind is elsewhere._

 _Ignoring her, the Doctor continues, "What if one was able to trick the mind in feeling her presence constantly? For instance, before it started to get worse and you were forgetting the date, saying years in the future or years in the past. Never the right year. You didn't know who Clyde was or even Jane. You do that often, you know." He spoke with his hands, gesturing to absolutely nothing wildly, "We trick the mind into feeling her presence without her needing to be as such."_

" _And how do you suppose I do that?" Drea raised an eyebrow, watching the man closely._

" _With this." He held up a small tube with red liquid inside, seeming incredibly pleased with himself. When the Doctor notices her staring at him, not knowing what he was holding , he continues, "A vial of your mother's blood."_

" _Okay, um...Ya know, I have to ask, how did you get a vial of Mom's blood?"_

" _I asked her if I could have it." The Doctor moves over to her, letting a chain dangle from the vial, "Being she's my wife and she loves me unconditionally, she agreed." He gently placed the chain over the young woman's head, "It is only a theory, only something we can solve with trial and error, Junior." Leaning forward, he laid a kiss to the top of her forehead at her hairline, "Do you understand?"_

" _I'm not thick, Dad." Drea shook her head slowly, "Thank you for thinking of me."_

" _You're my daughter. There's nothing that could stop me from thinking of you." He offers her a soft smile, "I want to see how well my idea works out, when you're finished, we're going on an excursion."_

" _Location and time period?" She raised an eyebrow, "Off world or-"_

" _Ladies' choice." The Doctor reached out his hand to help her get up. "You will remain close, just in case my solution doesn't work."_

" _So, I'm a science experiment for you at this point." Drea took his hand, rising from the sofa and walking past him._

" _Well, I wouldn't call it a science experiment."_

" _What would you call it?" She smirked, turning quickly to let him know that she was simply teasing him. "Let me get changed, check on the baby, and let Mom know we're going out. She freaked out the last time we simply went off."_

" _She overreacted!" The Doctor followed behind his daughter._

"I phoned Clyde to make him aware of your plans. He gets the whole...us traveling for a while...thing." Drea nods, attempting to tie her daughter's simple leather shoes, "He and Jenny are keeping things under control, all while making sure Sky goes to school." She smiles softly.

"I was about to ask." Sarah Jane pushes clothes aside, "What do you think, hat or no hat?"

"If you want to wear one, just make sure it matches."

"Hey! I'll have you know that I am ahead of the trends when it comes to fashion." She feigns hurt, "You can ask the Doctor."

"Well, you can't really go wrong with leather boots and a vest now, can you?" Drea slowly pulls on her dress, "Simple. Simplicity is the most important. Make sure Dad changes that shirt he's been wearing. I mean, I know he hates to do things that aren't...him, but we all make sacrifices...like wearing these godawful shoes." She clicks the heels against one another before giggling softly.

Sarah Jane watches her granddaughter as the girl returns to her husband. Jane has always been the apple of her grandfather's eye, but something within him was weary about getting too close to her. She knows exactly why, but her story will be the same as well.

The Doctor lifts the toddler into his arms, "See that one, Jane? Always tell me when the red button blinks. Not that red button, just this one. Or...the cloister bell. You know that one though." When the girl babbles to him, he nods, "Yes, I know. It's very loud. However, it has to be so that we know how to act in whatever situation it warns us of. Besides, it's only happened with you aboard once. Never again...at least, not until you're much older and can help me tend to whatever the issue may be. How does that sound?" When the toddler hugs onto him, he smiles softly.

"She knows how to work you, doesn't she?" Drea files out into the main control room, dressed in proper attire for the time period, "Dad, you've got to get changed."

"No, I do not. I like what I'm wearing. What I'm wearing is no one else's business." He scowls playfully.

"Please, dear." Sarah Jane places her hands on her hips, "You can continue with the trousers, but at least change your shirt. All those holes...you look like a beggar."

"Some of my best friends are beggars!" The Doctor announces before setting the girl down and walking to the room in demand.

Drea giggles, watching as he begrudgingly walks by. She moves closer to the TARDIS console, typing in a few things to make the machine function while her father changes.

"We are moving, but it isn't making the sound!" He jogs out from the room, his new button down shirt open as he appears worrisome.

"Because I took the brakes off." She raises an eyebrow, "This isn't the first ship I've piloted, you know. You finish up."

The Doctor returns to his massive closet, "Velvet. Velvet. Was velvet a thing in 1800s London? Oh how I forget." He knows the answer to this, of course he knows the answer. He continues buttoning his stark white dress shirt up to his neck, waiting to hear the young woman correct him.

"You know it was invented in the 1400s in the middle east, we went together to watch the first textiles weaved. You also know that it's seen as a mark of nobility now. Wear whatever you please, but wear it wisely." Drea shakes her head, "I know what you're going to wear anyway."

"You've never seen me in the blue one before." He steps back out, doing a quick spin.

"Sure I have, you just don't remember it." She winks playfully. "Mom-"

"That's the..." Sarah Jane moves closer toward him, "When I watched you regenerate...Is this the same jacket?" She appears slightly upset, but not terribly. Only teary because of the memories she shared with the man during his Third incarnation.

The Doctor shrugs, looking down toward it, "Possibly."

She leans in, "No regenerating today." Her hand rising to his face to gently caress his cheek, "Promise me."

"Cross my hearts." He offers a soft smile before leaning in and gently placing a kiss against her lips, "Don't you believe velvet jackets are anything other than a fashion statement."

"Can we all get out of here, please?" Drea watches them from the doorway, holding onto her toddler daughter's hand.


	2. Chapter 2

"We aren't just coming here for dinner." Andrea scowls toward her father, watching the man carry her daughter, "What did you have up your sleeve?" Her heels click along the cobblestone ground. "This place is quite beautiful."

"A sort of whimsey. Last your father and I were here, we were attacked by mummies." Sarah Jane folds her arms, staying close to her husband.

"No, no, dear. That was the 1700s. We were helping find a half man-half beast in the moors of an expensive estate in the 1800s." The Doctor smiles softly, "No, but the both of those times were positively marvelous and quite educational."

"Certainly." The petite brunette softly chuckles, "The smell is awful around here."

"You're telling me." Drea shakes her head, "Everyone try not to get the Bubonic plague. Dad, where are we doing here?" She motions her hand for him to come on and tell them, "I know you have a reason for it, you'd never just bring us here for a stroll. What have you up your sleeve?"

"Visiting with friends, is all." He motions to a house, "Just around here." The Doctor holds the girl closer to him, "Hopefully Vastra won't try to eat any of you."

"What?" Sarah Jane raises an eyebrow, not exactly certain she heard him correctly.

"Wait a minute, Vastra...is she a Silurian?" The younger appearing woman starts, "Vastra...Vastra...Vastra. She has a housemaid named Jenny."

"You know her then?" The Doctor beams toward her, excited at the thought. His free hand raises to knock at the door.

"She tried to eat me." Andrea answers proudly as the door is opened by a stout Sontaran. Knowing it would alarm her mother. She quickly grabs the woman's hand to comfort her.

"Strax! It's been so long. Too long, really." The silver haired Time Lord exclaims.

"Doctor, do come in. The fleshy things are your companions?" The Sontaran moves aside to allow them passage through the doorway.

"My wife and family, yes." The Doctor smirks proudly, entering the vestibule of the house with everyone in tow.

" _You never tell me anything about your travels." Clyde folded his arms, looking to the charts on the console of the ship._

" _That isn't true." Drea curled up on the sofa in the room._

" _It is." He raised his eyebrows, "Rarely ever. I just want to have fun in your stories. You write them for your readers, but you don't ever just tell me about them."_

" _Well, maybe you should read my books, but I know that's asking too much of you." Her tone was teasing before she sighed softly, "Langer, I don't tell you things because I usually don't remember them. Dad's plan has been working. This weird...blood thing. It's been working. We just can't figure out why my mind has been doing such. It's only been in recent years...since I came to this world."_

" _The more we remember about our time with you, the less you remember about your time in general." Clyde theorized, "Right?"_

" _Something like that, yes." Drea smiled gently, "It's all worth it, though. Jane is worth it...having you back is worth it."_

 _He glanced over toward her, moving closer before capturing her lips with his own. "We'll make our own memories."_

"Doctor, I must be honest, I wasn't expecting you to be the type of man that would have a family. At least, not one that is biological." Vastra speaks to the man as they stand alone together, "Not this far in your life."

"They've been around for years." The Doctor explains, sipping a cup of tea, "Just the first I've decided to bring them around to you."

"Yes, the smallest fleshy one...She amuses me."

"My granddaughter." He listens, watching Vastra's wife, Jenny, speak with his companions, especially the toddler.

"Yes...something about her seems familiar." Vastra tilts her head to the side slightly, "All of them...from different experiences..."

"Yes, you've met my dear Sarah several years ago...several hundred years for me. She won't remember you, however." The Doctor winks.

"Retcon?"

"Retcon." He confirms with a nod, "What she doesn't know, will not harm her." He sighs, "Especially from that particular incident. I wish I could take it myself."

"What of the other one? Your daughter?" Vastra says surprisingly, "She smells of recent regeneration."

"This particular one, Andrea, yes." The Doctor takes a sip from the cup of tea, "Ylang ylang?"

"I'm just amused that she's able to. Something you've run away from for so long, something you try your damndest not to do...and she's already done it. She seems young. Very young. Only a few hundred years, I'd bet." She takes another sip of tea, "It hurts you."

"We aren't here to speak of me, we're here for supper." He scowls slightly, rising from his seat and placing his porcelain cup onto the matching saucer.

" _Look at this, look at all of this." Jenny, the Doctor's only other daughter besides Andrea, swung around a tree in this odd world. The colors opposite, high contrasted. Black and bright neon colors. "Breathtaking isn't it?"_

" _Something like that." Andrea lied back, folding her arms behind her head as she rest on the cyan hilltop. "I just want, just once, someplace that just...smells like applegrass." She paused, a smile growing on her face, "New Earth. Have you ever been?"_

 _The young appearing blonde fell silent a moment, "All of Earth is new to me."_

 _She huffed out a chuckle, "I used to...travel and travel and travel...never stop traveling. Never stay in one place long enough that your past can catch up with you. Never stay long enough for your life to..." The brunette swallowed, "And I should have kept doing that."_

" _What are you saying?" Jenny moved from the tree she was swinging around on, moving next to her sister, "You have us now."_

" _They're going to die though, Jenny, don't you get it?" Andrea had tears in her eyes, her tone honest and raw. This was something that had been on her mind for quite a while, "All of them. Mom, Langer, Jane...they're not like us. They can't regenerate. They can't...just keep coming back time and time again like we can. They're only a small fraction of our lives."_

" _Family, Drea."_

" _No." She yelled, getting up and moving around the area she was sitting, "Pain. Losing people you never want to lose. Multiple times for me. Losing the same people over and over You don't know what that's like. You're still so young."_

 _Jenny watched her, "And what? We just stop? No. We keep coming back to keep the people that mean the most to us alive." She shook her head a little, "I may have never given birth to children, or fell in love with someone, or...even had a mother, but...those are all things that so many others never get to experience." She licked her lips before continuing, "They might be painful, but they're your story. We're all stories in the end."_

 _Drea glanced to the distance, at no one or nothing in particular, "I need to find a way for them to live forever like we can..." Her head slowly looked toward her sister again, "Will you help me?"_

" _I would be delighted."_

Strax stands in front of the small, tanned skin girl. His body tilts down to look at her better. "Human female half-form, what is it that you consume?"

Jane tilts her head to the side, smiling slightly towards the being, "Apple? I like apples."

"What of a pear?" His tone strong, annoyed, even though he wasn't really. Just in his nature, he takes a knee before the girl, making eye contact with her better. "Human female half-"

"Jane."

"I do not believe I know of that human fruit or vegetable. Sontaran worry not of unnecessary human things such as nutrition."

Jane shakes her head a little, "I am Jane."

"Small Lady Jane." Strax attempts, attempting to keep a smirk from his face, "Please, tell me how I may be of assistance? Do you hunger?"

"I don't like pears." She watches him, a grin growing on her face. The girl reaches out, gently touching the skin of his cranium, "I like apples and bananas. Sometimes I like grapes. Sometimes."

"Lady Jane, that isn't an answer." No one has ever been this way with him.

"No pears." Jane says again, "Show me the kitchen?"

Strax nods, standing upright, only to feel the girl take one of his three fingers in her hand, "Certainly, Lady Jane."


	3. Chapter 3

Sarah Jane studies her granddaughter from across the room. Never having a single decent experience with the Sontaran race, "I don't know how you're comfortable with the Sontaran interacting with Jane so closely." She bites her lip, "It isn't safe."

"What, Strax?" Andrea asks incredulously, a chuckle spilling from her lips, "He's harmless. All bark and no bite. Perfectly safe. Besides, I doubt anyone has ever given him the opportunity to not be a butler or a warrior. He's just...Strax. Scary thought really. A Sontaran left to his own devices."

"The last I came into contact with a Sontaran, I was hunted with your brother, Clyde, and Maria through a forest. Not exactly a good experience."

"Can't blame all for the faults of one."

"Multiple. Multiple times in which I was attacked by a Sontaran." Sarah Jane answers excitedly, sitting up in her seat to do so. When she receives a look from her daughter, she calms ever so slightly, realizing she may be causing a scene. "Why would this one be any different?"

"Because he's wearing a necktie." Drea begins to grin, "There's also a Silurian woman speaking with Dad like they're the best of friends and that doesn't bother you more than the Sontaran?"

She falls silent a moment, tilting her head to the side, "I never really encountered Silurians."

"They're a bit...unpredictable. Capable of reason, but most times they choose not to. Stubborn, I suppose." Her American-like accent made her an outcast in this time. Many didn't travel in the late 1800s unless they had money. In this house, she was a guest, but she may not be so lucky outside. "We're in the middle of an Industrial Revolution here...I think. I saw lots of skyscrapers going up. I can only imagine people are walking around here with thick pockets and even larger egos. I'll fit right in." She begins to smirk, "Don't worry."

"I never worry about you fitting in. I worry about him not making a scene." Sarah Jane nods her head in her husband's direction.

"Yeah, wouldn't want him to upstage you." Drea teases, rising from her seat and moving toward the kitchen area.

" _I don't know why you insist I come here instead of the other way around. Tower of London is my office, not just a UNIT building." The tall blonde smirked, glancing around the young appearing woman's TARDIS. "I will never not be amazed by this place."_

" _Amazed, ma'am...this place is...breathtaking." Osgood brought her inhaler to her mouth, taking a puff, "No pun intended."_

 _Drea waved her hand, "Take the pun, you deserve it." She motioning for them to follow her, "I need you all, just for a moment, to imagine the greatest office to suit your needs. I'm betting they're similar." Drea stopped in the hall, turning to them for a moment, "I hope they're similar or else we could have a major problem on our hands."_

" _Great computer and a decent microscope, that's all I ever really need." The brunette watched the two other women before her._

" _Good on you, girl." Kate Stewart grinned, amused and proud of her protege all at once._

" _Lovely." A silence fell between them, lasting only a moment or two, "Have you done it?" Drea asked again when she seems a skeptical look from the blonde and an excited nod from the brunette, she grins widely. "Come along." She began her treck down the hall again. Multiple halls, passing multiple rooms, filled with a variety of multiple things. Stopping, Andrea motioned to a closed door, "After you."_

 _Osgood did as instructed, being the first when her boss nodded her head toward the closed door for her to open it, "This...this is beautiful."_

" _That it is." Kate followed behind, giving it a moment to sink in for all of them, "It does beg a simple question though...Why?"_

" _Why? I give you the laboratory of your dreams and you ask me 'Why'?" Andrea asked incredulously, moving about the room, "Better than any UNIT office, that I can assure you. I'm not asking you stay, but I'm asking you help me out from time to time."_

" _I don't think that's all, either." The blond had a smirk playing at the corner of her lip, "You know, I appreciate anything you do for us and how we've remained...confidantes, regardless of how you were treated last you were in a UNIT building." She paused, "Had you come to me directly at the Tower, it would have been a very different story for you. I am, however, a mother first. I can always tell when my children aren't telling me everything...and you are no different, Andrea Langer."_

" _Can't hide anything from you, can I?" She moved over toward young Osgood, attempting to change the subject, "I even threw in some RGB lighting to...spice things up a bit."_

" _Oh, how fun." Osgood squealed, her fingers moving lightning fast across the glowing keyboard, "Any color I want?"_

" _The keyboard, monitor backlighting, computer tower internal lighting...even the chairs." Drea chuckled, clapping her hands together as she moved back over to the other woman, "You see...this could work out for the both of us. Come here to get away from doing certain work within UNIT, and I'm able to help you. My mind is at your disposal."_

" _That's very kind of you, but-" Kate tried._

" _No buts! A simple 'thank you' would suffice."_

 _The blonde studied the other's face, pulling her back into the hallway with a pull of the other's wrist, "Whatever this is, you're afraid. You're...incredibly afraid of this."_

" _My Dad has always been there for UNIT when he's able to. It would work in your favor to have me available at all times. I'd rather stay at home...live a normal, as normal as I possibly can, life. Live...live a life with these people that I will vastly outlive." Tears dusted Drea's eyes as she made eye contact with the other woman, "You're a mother, just like I am. How would you feel knowing...you're going to outlive every single person you love, again...including your children?" She swallowed, "And discovering you're pregnant again."_

 _Kate bit her lip, going quiet for a moment in the heavy air, able to feel for the young woman before her, "You know...I always appreciated that about you. Your sense of humanity that your father...simply doesn't have, nor desire."_

" _No one in my family knows yet." She shook her head, "Not even my husband. You and Osgood...you're the only ones I want to know about this right now. At least not until we can make sure they live."_

 _The blonde wrapped her arms around the other young woman, holding her closely. This was more than mere friendship. Hearing her protege should something about making the room blue with the lighting, she smirked, "We had better get back."_

The Doctor grins, offering a hand to help his wife stand, "You look absolutely breathtaking."

Sarah Jane blushes slightly, a smile playing at her lips, "Thank you. You said that when we were leaving the ship."

"Still not enough," He kisses the knuckles of her hand after bringing them to his lips, "Vastra said we're having some sort of roast for dinner. Jenny has really...put her all into it." He pauses, "Jenny, Vastra's wife and not Jenny, my daughter. Just to be clear. I can't imagine my Jenny cooking...literally anything. I don't know if she even actually eats. Bird she is."

The other woman chuckles softly, leaning against him for a moment, "I hope you don't plan on wearing that hat anywhere else except here."

"I wasn't, but I may be changing my mind." The Doctor teases, kissing her forehead, "Eating dinner with a Sontaran and a Silurian? I'm sure that's a first for you."

"I'm...actually quite nervous about it." Sarah Jane makes eye contact with her husband, "The Sontaran here has taken a liking to our granddaughter and is currently in the kitchen with her, probably being argued with over what piece of fruit to eat. Both opinionated, yet indecisive somehow."

"Strax is harmless. Has a pension for explosives, when able to use them, but otherwise...a relatively decent Sontaran." He nods, "Most of them are, you know. We just...came across a few bad ones together." He continues on with her down a long hallway, "Nothing to fear."

The house begins to tremble, forcing the woman to hold onto her husband to avoid a fall, "Yes, nothing to fear."


	4. Chapter 4

"I need you to listen to me, just for a moment." Jenny rounds the young brunette as she sits in the coffee shop, typing on a smallish laptop.

"I'm not interested." Osgood mumbles, working some sort of quartic equation in front of her.

The blonde takes a seat opposite her, shutting the lid of the laptop, "My name is Jenny. You know my father...and I think you know my sister."

"Okay, Jenny." This was making the young woman nervous. This beggar or religion push was both aggressive and oddly dressed. Somewhat militaristic, but not quite. "What is your last name?"

"No, it isn't like that. We don't always have one. Sometimes. My sister likes to go by one. Sometimes." She mumbles quickly, "They've been missing...something like six months."

"Have you reported it to the police?" Osgood shakes her head, "I don't understand how I, of all people could possibly help you. I haven't any money or...any pull in the government or Scotland Yard." She swallows, straightening herself in her chair. "I can't help you."

"Smith. My Dad goes by Smith now. My sister...sometimes Smith, sometimes Langer."

The brunette brings her inhaler to her lips, squeezing the tank to take a puff. "The Doctor." She whispers.

Jenny nods excitedly, grinning broadly, "Can you help me?"

"Your Dad's gone missing for much longer than that on occasion." Osgood shakes her head, "He probably has no concept of just how long he's been away. There are methods to contact him."

"Psychic paper, trans-dimensional telegraph, trans-dimensional mobile phone. Andrea's TARDIS is still...where it always is. It's part of the house, kind of. Works best that way. I have no way to contact Dad's ship."

"What of the telepathic link that Time Lords usually-"

Jenny shakes her head, "I'm not a Time Lady. They are made that way by the High Council of Gallifrey. Andrea is a Time Lady. Dad is a Time Lord. It's all...very complicated and we don't have time to talk it over. You have to help me find my Dad. Even little...my niece?" Jenny attempts to find the word, "She is missing and unable to be found."

Oswald studies the young woman for a second, collecting her things, "Come with me."

" _I don't know, exactly, how you plan for me to help you when it comes to this." Kate sat back on the sofa within her lounge room, "I don't like it when you lot come into my home. Please, don't take offense to that, I don't like anyone in my home really...except my children and I."_

" _That's no way to welcome me." Drea stepped around towards the kitchen, "I'm putting on a kettle."_

 _The blonde stood from her once comfortable position, moving to the same space as the young appearing woman, "You don't even know where the kettle-"_

" _See?" She smirked, motioning to the stove where she has already set a kettle full of water to warm. Obtaining the sugar from the proper cabinet, the cream from the refrigerator, seemingly knowing exactly where everything is. "Wait, where's the vanilla? You've moved the vanilla."_

" _How many times have you been here?"_

 _Andrea turned to face her, "My question first."_

" _I'm out. I never understood where it was going...and now I do. How many times have you come here?" Kate folded her arms, "Why here to make tea? Why here?" She studied the young woman before her, "And why don't I remember?"_

" _You ask a lot of questions. I'm the daughter of a journalist first and foremost. I usually do that kind of thing. Accidentally, but it still happens."_

" _You're dancing around the topic."_

 _Drea turned slowly, rolling her eyes with a sigh as she does so, "There are things that I can't tell my parents or siblings or husband. There aren't many people I'm able to trust with the things in my life...or who would know what I'm...What I encounter-"_

" _I'm pretty sure your mother understands more than you give her credit for. My kids are the same way. This feels like an invasion of my privacy" Kate scowled slightly, "So, what...you spray me with a little Retcon after a good chin wag?"_

" _Sometimes...sometimes I put it in your tea. Depends on how the game of bridge goes. It's only a level two, nothing to worry about and I've been working on different compounds to see what effects they may have...I try them on my husband, if I'm being honest."_

 _She began to lowly chuckle to herself, "Why me? Why not Osgood? What if I'm called away and here you are? I'd feel like a terrible host."_

" _You wouldn't remember. I have other ways, Kate." Drea smirked, "Hell, I'll drop you off myself."_

 _Kate tilted her head to the side, realizing slowly why the woman came to her, because she couldn't trust another soul long enough to consider them a friend, "You have a hard time trusting people." She noticed the other woman begin to nod, "You don't like having people too close. Even if that's a parent, a sibling, or even a child-"_

" _Jane wouldn't quite understand the past history and constant threat of the Slitheen family of Raxacoricophalapatorius or how that planet, in particular, has changed their orbital pattern...which is weird. I think Klom leaders have something to do with it. They've gone silent for over a month and were working on an orbital pattern relay before doing so. However, you're all about the United Kingdom and Earth as a whole. I'm about everything. It's odd. Humanity is odd. I've lived it longer than anything else though." She sighed, readying the tea to carry into the lounge._

" _We can stay in here. I'll play bridge with you at the kitchen table." She motioned, helping with the teacups and saucers, "You don't need to wipe my mind each time."_

" _I've been here forty-seven times in the past two months your time. I don't think you want to remember them all."_

" _Forty-seven?" Kate answered, surprised. Taking a moment, she calmed herself before speaking again, "It's okay." She turned away from her table, "It's okay. I can help you."_

" _You need sleep. That's why I make you forget. Use it and you feel like you've gotten a full eight hours...when you've actually only had about ten minutes. You remember things later on sometimes." Drea set the kettle onto the smallish table, her voice falling quiet for a few moments as she sets things before she sat, "I need someone who I'm able to tell my stories to. Someone who...is amazed and intrigued by my stupid little stories. Someone I can repeat said stories to because I'm carrying a vial of my mother's own blood around my neck." She swallowed, "So, Kate, I'll let you decide if you'd like for me to use the-"_

" _A vial of your mother's blood...why?"_

 _The brunette began to smirk, "I'll let you decide, Kate. For now on."_

"Dad, we've been staying here for too long. It's been over a week now. Jane grows, Dad." Drea motions to her daughter, "We don't have the time to stay here and help these people clean up and move forward from the Uvodni incident. They can do that themselves. Torchwood can help. Torchwood is up now isn't it?" She pauses a moment, "Yes, 1879. They're just getting their bearings. We could have given them a call to help out...or, sent carrier pigeon? I don't recall how messaging worked here. Sent a letter maybe?"

"Look how she's taken a liking to Strax!" The Doctor waves a hand toward the Sontaran and the girl, "Poor thing will be heartbroken."

"I'm not worried about my daughter, who will be on to her next obsession within a few days, having a broken heart over a Sontaran."

"I mean Strax being heartbroken." He shakes his head slowly, "Anyway-"

"Dad, she has a father that would probably be pretty upset to know of all he's missing...that I'm selfishly keeping from him." Andrea scowls, having foregone her 1800s garb and wearing casual modern day clothing of her jeans and riding boots, akin to her mother's common modern day attire.

"Oh, come now." The Doctor's head dipped to look at her better, "You don't care about any of that."

"What are you talking about? Of course I care about my husband."

"You care about one thing, and one thing only." He touches her abdomen, "Making sure this doesn't grow." He could tell it had taken her back, made her nervous, "You don't wish anything drastic, but staying on the ship means it doesn't grow. It's only when we're off does that all happen. I mean...look at my hair! I've been combing it back, but it's still getting quite long."

"I know you go on adventures with Clara Oswald." Drea raises an eyebrow, whispering.

"Then I guess we both have our secrets." The Doctor stands, motioning for the two of them to enter the blue box within the attic of his friends' home, "Up here."

She knows he means business when he does this. She follows him closely, waiting until he closes the door behind them, "Dad-"

"If you don't want another child, we can take you-"

"It isn't that at all. I want them more than anything in the whole world. I'd love to grow my family." Andrea uses her hands as she speaks, following him closer to the console, having a seat in one of the chairs he had scattered about.

"Does it have something to do with why you've been going round to Kate Stewart's home?" The Doctor leans against the TARDIS console, his arms folding. "I think you're up to fifty-three times in the past few months. Haven't gone while we've been here...lucky for Kate."

"I wasn't aware you knew about that."

"I'm aware of a lot of things, Junior." He shakes his head, "We fixed the...losing of the memories, for the most part. What's going on that you can't possibly tell your dear-old-dad or your vibrant mother about them?" Sighing, he moves closer to her, "And why Kate Stewart? She has enough on her plate as it is. Are you making her forget about them?"

"Some of them. I promised her I would only do the ones she wants me to after the forty-seventh visit." Drea swallows, her body language mirroring her father after a moment, "She just...gets it."

The Doctor chuckles softly to himself, "She gets it because you make her get it...Set and forget." He smirks, "You know, I used to share my stories with the Brigadier over glasses of brandy after a long night at UNIT. I was their Chief Scientific Officer at one point...still am, apparently. I've been told I'm on the payroll currently, but I've never gotten a paycheck. Hopefully they apply it to something worthwhile."

"You drinking brandy? I couldn't imagine."

"I can't imagine you playing bridge, but you somehow picked that up along the way."

"Only to play with Kate." Drea shakes her head, "I don't do any of it out of malice."

"Oh, it's never done out of malice. However, she has two children and an incredibly important job. What if your dose of Compound B67, I'm assuming, is too strong? She's home after a long night at work and you pop on over for a game of bridge and a spot of tea...slip her a pill...grind it in her sugar-"

"She prefers a splash of cream."

The Doctor raises his eyebrows, "And it's too much. She doesn't wake for a week."

"I wouldn't do that. I'm a chemist as much as you are." Andrea shakes her head, a part of her ashamed.

"Mistakes happen, Junior!" He laughs a little, rubbing his hands over his face before looking at her again, "You can't force a person to be your friend. Also," He excitedly points to her, "Also, I know you've given a teleportation hub to someone, somewhere. Opened up a universe of threats onto your ship...and subsequently into our own home."

"Again, that wouldn't happen. I may have given it out, but your scenario wouldn't happen."

"How can you be so sure?" The Doctor rounds the console, needing to burn off the energy a little.

"Bioelectric pattern." Andrea shrugs, "I trust some more than I trust others."

"So, let me put all of these things together, shall I? You tell me if it sounds off to you." He raises both gray eyebrows, still pacing, and using his hands as he speaks. "You're pregnant and you don't want anyone to know or to let it grow...yet. You have been drugging Kate Stewart and forcing her to drink tea and play bridge with you late at night into the early morning hours. You've given someone...at least one person as it could very well be more than that, unvetted access to your ship. Allowing someone to come and go as they wish without your knowledge onto the only other TARDIS in the universe." The Doctor shrugs, "Are you hearing this? Do you hear how oddly you've been behaving?"

"Pot calling the kettle black." She whispers, near tears. They allow the moment to hang in the air before finally breaking the silence, "I feel alone." She licks her lips, shrugging. "You go on adventures with Mom or with other people. You come home and have that life and..." She laughs, almost bitterly, "And here I am. I'm here. Watching the people that I love the most...grow. Waste away. From the day they're born...they start to decay. Us...well...we come back time and time again. Time Lords and Ladies." Andrea finally stands, pacing somewhat, "It's our magic power. The power to be reborn. Twelve times...if we're good enough...or everyone else is dead, they might give us more."

"You found Gallifrey long before I did. You came into contact with them, long before I did."

"Not true." She shakes her head, "Just went at a different time. There's no before or after to us. There's just...us. There's just now."

The Doctor smirks slightly, "Correct."

"That's why you didn't..." Drea smacks herself in the forehead, "That's why you didn't come around when I was a kid. You were afraid you'd see me decay."

"No...I just didn't want to...interrupt the time you had left with your mother."

That stops her. That one small comment. She turns, "Do you remember her?" When he looks to her, not quite understanding what she's asking. "Do you remember your mother?"

"The woman that raised me...the woman I called my mother, yes." The Doctor nods once, "I want you to remember something, Junior. Something that someone near and dear to my hearts said once..." When the younger woman turns to face him, he continues, "Everything has its time and everything ends." He makes eye contact with his daughter, "I've lost loves. I've lost children. When you're over two thousand years old, things happen. You just have to, as a Time Lady, enjoy life as it is right now. Remember you can come back to it once you perfect your TARDIS landing technique-"

"You haven't perfected a landing technique." Andrea smirks to herself before nodding, "I understand what you mean. However, can we, Please, get back to Earth? At least drop Jane off?"

"All you had to do was ask."


	5. Chapter 5

Sarah Jane watched the other two adults within the ship's interior. There was something unspoken within the two. Something she could feel was a bit off. Her granddaughter resting against her, she walks off, knowing they didn't even see her move. She lies the girl down in the rest area before returning to the others. She needed to make her peace and actually figure things out. "Jane is sound asleep." She nods between the two, offering a soft smile.

"We should have brought Strax along for a bit. Both heartbroken." The Doctor flips another switch, pressing some other buttons on the console.

"We can visit. Did you tell him we can visit?" Andrea raises an eyebrow, on the other side of the console, peering into a monitor that she swings around in front of her.

"Yes! Yes, I told him we would visit again. Many times. He will never even realize that we even left." He pauses, "Maybe not that often, but...often enough."

"Ah." Sarah Jane nods slowly, watching between the two, "Okay. What's going on?"

"We're on our way home, Sarah. I've already told you that." The Doctor walks around her, pausing to place a kiss against her hair.

"No, no, no." She shakes her head, motioning between the Time Lords, "between you lot. Something happened. Something rather large, I believe. I'd quite appreciate it if you would let me in the know." When the room falls silent, with exception to the constant humming of the ship. "Do you not trust me with the inctricties of the universe? Do you not believe I could handle that? Is that it?"

"Nothing bothers a journalist more than silence." The silver haired man smirks slightly, finally glancing over toward his wife. When he receives a hit to the upper arm, he continues, "Sarah, there's just some things that you learn in your life that you aren't going to like. They are best not known...not worried about."

"No." Sarah Jane glares, "That isn't true. Knowledge is everything." Tilting her head to the side, "You of all people-"

"I'm pregnant." Andrea finally says, knowing her father was attempting to protect her from her mother's incessant questioning. She doesn't smile, doesn't seem happy in the slightest, "Okay? Now you know."

"That's-" The woman grins broadly, "That's great news!" When things go quiet again, she glances between them, "Isn't it?"

"For some." The Doctor nods, "Time Lords...have other concerns though." He makes eye contact with his wife, motioning with a blink that he'll tell her later and for her to leave it alone. That's all it has ever taken. Just a look between them.

Landing the ship, Drea glances up to her mother, "Is Jane in her usual place?"

"Third door on the left." Sarah Jane motions with her hand in the correct direction, watching as her daughter runs off toward it.

" _Mister Smith, I need you." Clyde stood before the super computer. Head in thirty different places at once with worry. He watches the fanfare as gusts of wind hit him in the face once the computer set up._

" _Yes, Clyde, what can I help you with today?" Colors swirled on the screen of the computer._

 _He swallowed, placing his hands on his hips to convey some sort of internal strength that he hasn't had in months. "Has there been anything?"_

 _The was a question he asked on the regular and Mister Smith was quite used to answering it, "No spikes in autron energy have been shown."_

" _In the past week?" This was something Clyde had asked daily, as if the answer would change, "What of other places in the world? America? Russia? Are you able to-"_

" _No spices in auton energy have been shown." The Xyloc answered again, "Clyde, it might do you some good to spend some time in Andrea's TARDIS. It may make the waiting bearable."_

" _Can't...I need to care for Sparky. How about word on Jenny? Any idea where she may be? Hasn't been home for...over a day. Losing family members left and right." He huffed a soft chuckle to himself, "Sparky is enough trouble as she is. Try keeping her down."_

" _Will there be anything else?"_

 _Clyde sighed, nodding, "I um...Alert me for changes in...the stuff I ask you about. Yeah?"_

 _Sky stood in the doorway, "Is there anything new?" Something within her wasn't worried. Things could put her own edge, but Clyde was there to talk her down. "Jenny went-"_

" _Is she back yet?" He turned to face her, his face still worried._

" _No, she went to UNIT for help. I told her Drea and Dad trusted people there."_

" _You sent a known..." Clyde shook his head, 'We need to go and get her. Mister Smith, could you tell me the most recent location of Jenny...Smith?" He shrugs, not knowing what she told the super computer to call her, "Jenny?"_

 _Pulling up an image of the London Tower, Mister Smith lit up an area before zooming into it. "Last known location and current location is the London Tower. A known UNIT base." More pictures were shown of the young woman walking in with another woman, willingly, "Closed circuit security shows Jenny making her way inside with a Ms. Petronella Osgood, scientist for UNIT."_

" _My wife has spoken of her." He furrowed his brow, "Anything more?"_

" _Not at this time."_

" _Then that's where we're going." Clyde nodded, "Sky, get your coat."_

Jenny folds her legs at the knees as she sits atop the scientist's desk, "You said the Queen lived here once? The Queen of Earth?"

"No, I didn't...say anything like that." Osgood brought her albuterol device to her mouth, squeezing, and inhaling deeply. Computer in front of her, she pauses, before motioning to an area on the screen, "Last trace of large concentration of artron energy was right in this location. However, you'll see spots in other places, those mark the Doctor's companions usually. The more faded ones were companions of long ago, the others...the brighter ones..."

"Are more recent." The blonde nods, "Okay. So, people have seen him more recently than others?" She shrugs, "What about it?"

"Possibly, one of these blips would have seen him even more recently or can think of another way to contact them. Either of them."

Jenny offers a grin, nearly jumping from the desk, "Wait, what about Torchwood? Jack Harkness could probably-"

"Torchwood is not someone we call for help. It's usually the other way around. They can be a bit reckless." Osgood tilts her head to the side, listening intently, "How do you know of Jack Harkness?" A few more things typed, "He doesn't much like to come around us, but...we have our run ins. He gave us a Vortex Manipulator once...when he died one time." She releases a sigh that she wasn't aware she was keeping, "I say gave, I suppose we may have...just taken it."

"I could have gotten you one, if you wanted one." She shrugs, "A used one. Not one all broken and used like his. One that actually works."

"While I would love to see that...get my hands on it, it would probably be in my best interest to run the idea by the Doctor first." Osgood pauses when a large light appears on her monitor, "I believe...I think they might be back."

"In the garden?" Jenny claps, excited. Just short of jumping up and down. "Like they usually do."

"On our roof."

" _You know...if you would just entertain it, I'd take you with me once more." The Doctor glanced toward his former companion, himself in his tenth incarnation, "However...you look at me...and you see me as a young man." He shrugged, "I can't argue with that. I feel like a young man, yeah...I look like one. You know that I'm not, though."_

 _Sarah Jane glanced over toward him, clad in something more comfortable, out of her wedding dress finally, and not in the way she thought she would be taking it off. "Is that all this is? Heartbreak and...run off?"_

 _He shakes his head, "You know that isn't true."_

" _I have responsibilities now. I have a family. I...Peter was...the first man I trusted that wasn't you. Now, I know that wasn't true either. I...I don't know when my feelings for love are real and when they aren't. The feelings for my son...for the others, they're the only thing I know to be true." She swallowed, "And it...it breaks my heart."_

 _The Doctor rounded his TARDIS console to her, wrapping his arms around her tightly, "I love you, Sarah. That's never going to change. This TARDIS is your home...whenever you'd like it to be." He shrugged a little, "I'd prefer sooner rather than later, but that's just me being a selfish Time Lord."_

" _I wish I could. Believe me." Sarah Jane swallowed, leaning into his hold, "I wish I could."_


	6. Chapter 6

The Doctor steps off of the ship, holding hands with his wife, "Air is different." He glances over, seeing a team of military type with guns pointed on him, "Oh, come on, Katie." He mumbles, knowing the slim blond would be walking up between them like clockwork, "Arm in arm with the fair Osgood. My favorite Osgood."

"We are not arm in arm." Kate scowls, moving a hand for the men with the guns to back down. "You've been away for something like six months, you know." She motions to Jenny bouncing over her shoulder, "And let's not get started with that one's husband attempting to sneak his way inside right this very second." She moves her hand to motion toward Drea and Jane as they leave the ship, "I'll have my men bring he and the girl up."

"The girl?" Sarah Jane furrows her brow.

"Sky Smith. The three of them, Sky Smith, Jenny, and Clyde Langer have all...been working with us." She smiles toward him softly, "I'm not entirely certain why he's attempting to sneak in as opposed to just...knocking on our door. Don't worry, their secrets are safe with me."

"And me." Osgood nods, beaming toward the man and his family, "Hello, Doctor. Sarah Jane Smith...it is an absolute honor to finally get to meet you."

"Six months?" The old man shakes his head, "Six months?!"

"I knew it." Drea glares toward her father. "I knew you wouldn't be able to-"

The Doctor motions with a sweep of his hand, "Let's get back in and fix it."

"No." The younger Time Lady shakes her head, "No, we aren't doing that. The way things were going with that ship of yours, we'll end up six hundred years back. I'm going to try and apologize to my husband with our daughter that is no older than when we left and...here...should be celebrating a birthday pretty soon."

"Andrea, wait-" The man calls out, only to be ignored by the woman. He nods to the Head of Scientific Research, "Alright, Kate. If you're looking for me and have my children working with you, there must be a reason." The Doctor uses his hands as he speaks, "The world is under threat? The...entirety of Britannia is going to explode? Zygons taken over the Queen...again?"

"No." Kate watches him, "Your family missed you." She answers simply, watching them. She is sure she can see tears in Sarah Jane's eyes, shame, maybe? "And I'm not about to let a family...fall apart because the patriarch of that family doesn't know how to use a wrist watch."

She was speaking from the heart and he knows that. The Doctor nods solemnly, "Thank you, Ms. Stewart."

 _Clyde bounded up the road as much as he could in the mint green Figaro, "Never realized how quickly this thing could go." He smirked, "I always thought Sarah Jane was just a bad driver or something and...I think it just might be the car."_

" _No, Mum's a bad driver too." Sky giggled to herself, leaning forward a little front the back seat, "Do we have have a plan for when we get there? Do you have a plan? Mum would have asked Mister Smith to print out floor plans before leaving since this is such a big place. Did you do that?"_

 _He paused, knowing that he didn't, "I don't think we need them. Came here for a field trip once. Tower of London...place of spooks. They ever take you all yet? They always take us at least once during school." He parked the car, motioning to the towers. "See? Ever been here?"_

" _No. It is big." The girl smiled softly, "And you plan to...get in there without any idea where any room is or how the halls run or...where the electric circuits are-"_

" _I know, I know." Clyde sighed dramatically, "I know."_

UNIT Colonel Vikram Shindi sits opposite the Bannerman Road duo, watching as the older one paces. "I could have my guys bring you something? Tea and cake? Biscuits?"

"I don't need any charity." Clyde mumbles, his words almost hissing. "I want to talk to whoever is in charge. I have rights. You can't detain me forever without cause. You guys aren't even police officers."

"With all due respect, Mr. Langer, you attempted to break into a maximum security scientific and military output that's sanctioned by the collective governments of the world." The Colonel motions to a chair in front of him, having already been sitting in his own wheelchair, "Help me and I can help you, Mr. Langer."

"I know Kate Stewart. I think she has some kind of clout around here."

"Oh, Mr. Langer, let's not go throwing names around." Vikram smirks, "I'm simply asking if you're hungry. How about you, Sky?"

"You know my name?" The younger girl perks up, smiling.

"It's my job." He chuckles to himself, pressing a radio receiver at his shoulder and requesting tea and biscuits for the room. "I'll just have them brought by anyway." Maybe that's not all he was asking. Maybe, just maybe, it was his way of saying things were safe in the room. "We are thankful for all your people do in aiding us. I'm not sure how you obtain your knowledge, but it's nearly always correct. I'm impressed."

"I just need to talk to Kate Stewart. You know me, Colonel." Clyde continues to pace, "All or nothing with me. Can't tear me down, I'll get right back up again."

Lieutenant Shindi does his best not to roll his eyes. Hearing a gentle tap at the door, he picks his head up, "Come in."

Kate Stewart glides into the room, holding open the door behind her. "Lieutenant Bikram, if you would excuse us."

"Of course." He maneuvers his wheelchair toward the door, "You've a lively one here."

"I usually do." She nods, waiting for him to leave before addressing the pair. "Hello, Sky. How is school going?

Sky nods a little, "As well as it can. Clyde tries to help me with my maths, but he isn't very good."

"Hey!" Clyde glances toward her, finally edging his bottom against the table in the room. His eyes move to the older woman, "I'm sorry we...I just heard that Jenny was here and I don't want anything to happen to her because of...you know..."

"I do know and you doing what you did would have caused her more harm than good." Kate sighs slowly, frustrated with the young man, "However, this is our base of operations for our science division. We are all trained in military tactics, for the most part, but this is primarily a science base."

"Where is Jenny then?"

"With the Doctor on the roof. At least, she was. They are probably in the building now." She watches as it takes him a moment to actually realize what she's saying. "You need to calm yourself in situations like this. That's why Sarah Jane Smith and Andrea feel like they can't depend you in their travels as much as they can others." Kate pauses, "I'll send Andrea in. Sky, would you like me to take you to your parents?"

Sky picks her head up, moving to the woman, "Everyone is back?"

"They are." The blond smiles, placing her hand on the girl's shoulder as they leave the room.


	7. Chapter 7

Andrea watches her sister walk ahead with her friend. She looks to her daughter, then down at her own attire, the way her body is slowly changing itself. Moving through the open door, she tentatively watches her husband, just for a moment. He wasn't watching the door, having been staring at the floor. "Langer."

Picking his head up, Clyde stands slowly, attempting to keep his emotions at bay, "Andie...I've..."

She moves closer to him, wrapping an arm around him tightly. "I'm sorry." She whispers in his ear, letting him take hold of her in return, "I'm so sorry."

"Six months, Andie." He picks his head up, meeting her eye. Pressing his lips against her own. "Please, don't do that again. We aren't like you. I'm not...I'm not like you. If you go away for a time again, take me with you. I don't care about the Judoon or the Shadow Proclamation-"

"You should." Andrea nods, "That's the problem, Langer. You should care about them. However, this is my fault. I don't deny that. We were only gone a week and Dad miscalculated. Listen...it's complicated. Had I driven-"

"Let's just...let's get home." Clyde gently lifts the toddler from her arms. "Let's get back to...home."

"I have a better idea."

" _Are you well, Lady Jane?" Strax groaned, having protected the child from the falling debris once the house shook. "Lady Jane."_

" _I'm okay." Jane grinned to her new sontaran friend. "Are you?"_

" _Jane!" Andrea had run to the doorway, glancing frantically around the room, "Strax? Where is Jane?"_

" _Here." Jane called out, holding onto the stout extraterrestrial once he stands. She grinned broadly, "The house shaked, everything fell."_

" _I know. We're going to go and find out why." Her simple dress covered in a form fitting green jacket. Traditional garb for the time. "Listen to me...we're going to go out and hunt around. See what's going on out in the streets. Strax..."_

" _Lady Jane is in my care." Strax answered honestly._

 _Andrea chuckled slightly, "Of that I have no doubt."_

Sarah Jane glances over to her husband as they're driven back toward Bannerman Road, "Why was Drea so upset back when we were on the TARDIS?" She leans against him, holding onto his arm, "You both were so...secretive. I don't like secretive."

"I know you don't." The Doctor smiles softly to himself, amused by his wife. "She came to a realization, finally, that...that all Time Lords and Gallifreyans come to when falling in love with another species. Something that I've come to terms with...and it's what..." He pauses, shaking his head, "When children come into play, it's a whole different beast. Something she may have forgotten. She's been...acting erratically-"

"That's golden coming from you." She hummed to herself, glancing to Sky who had fallen asleep against the car door next to her. "Will I...be comfortable with your realization?"

He begins to shake his head slowly. "Just...let her guide her own life. If she has the child now or ten years our time. If she leaves for an hour or a year or a decade...it's her decision. It's her life." The silver haired man brings the woman's hand to his lips, "And we must respect that."

"She's afraid...terrified." Sarah Jane swallows, "I want her to feel like she can come to me with anything and...she's always so...scared." She shakes her head a little, "How can I...convey to her that...I'm always going to be there for her. I'm always going to be her mother, regardless of dimensions or time loops...whatever it is you lot want to call it. She's my daughter as much as Sky is...and she always will be."

"I never said she wouldn't be." The Doctor glances to the window. "Talk to her, Sarah." He runs his hand over his face, "She's afraid to talk to you."

"Afraid to-" She shakes her head, "What, why?"

"You'd have to ask her that." He smirks a little, waiting a moment, "You're getting flustered."

"I am not." Sarah Jane scowls slightly, "You could be a bit more supportive, you know."

"Supportive?"

"Encourage her."

The Doctor shrugs a little, "The Smith women aren't easily encouraged...nor are you easily persuaded. Either of you. That's what she obtained from you." He notices his wife roll her eyes, "You'd never give up on me...nor would you ever give up on our daughter. Neither of you require my encouraging."

 _Sam Bishop walked back into the main area of the science department offices, backpack slung over his shoulder. "Just flew in and boy are my arms tired." He grumbled, smirking at just how dumb that sounds. He was usually away in other countries. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, he noticed a blonde woman sitting at his friend's desk. "Well, you aren't Osgood."_

" _Afraid not. She's just popped to the other room. Something about a transmission that she needed to..." Jenny shook her head, "I'm sorry, I don't really know." She offered her hand, "I'm Jenny."_

" _Sam." He took her hand into his own, "It's a pleasure, Jenny."_

" _You're able to fly with your arms?" She tilted her head to the side, her question was innocent and honest. "I'm not able to. I tried once. Nearly broke a bone."_

 _Sam smirked, amused, "Are you new around here?"_

 _Jenny shrugged, "I'm not old around here." She stood, moving around the desk as the other woman appeared back in the room._

" _Sam!" Osgood grinned, "You're back."_

" _I am!" Sam moved to the young woman, giving her a quick hug. Knowing Osgood and he had that type of relationship, "Well, I've a bunch of paperwork to do."_

" _Don't make your tired arms do too much work." Jenny offered, following the brunette woman._

 _Osgood furrowed her brow, confused, "Okay, well. We're heading to the roof. The Doctor is back, and I'm betting so is the rest of your family, Jenny." She glanced to Sam, "I'll let Kate know you're back. She'll be pretty happy. We thought you were a goner."_

" _Can't keep me down." Sam smirked, "Paperwork...I'd never let Kate down by not doing it."_

"Your parents are going to know." Clyde glances to his daughter, able to smell the coconut tinge of the sunscreen that covers her skin from just being on the beach.

"Oh, I'm hoping they do." Andrea nods, skin tanned, midsection protruding even more now.

He watches his wife closely, "So, you gave one of those hub things to UNIT officials?"

"They aren't just UNIT officials. They're my friends. I'm not worried about the suited up, uniformed ones showing up and swarming the house. I trust them...with my life. Always will." She plays with the levers at the console section, "The beaches of California. Everything you hoped they would be?"

"They were really nice." Clyde grins, "Six months though..."

"I needed to make it up to you. When we get back, it will be right when we left." Andrea releases a sigh she didn't know she was holding, "I fly my ship better than Dad flies his. The trick is getting to the house before they get there. I think they're traveling by vehicle...jeep or something."

He studies her, glancing over to her when she sits next to him, "What's going on? You seem a bit...angry about your Dad."

She shrugs, letting him rub her bump affectionately. "Not really sure. I'm just...I guess I'm angry with him for not admitting that he screwed up." The woman bites the corner of her mouth, "I want him to realize that because he doesn't take my feelings or my daughter's feelings into account, he'll lose my life experiences...a little."

"It isn't that serious." Clyde shakes his head a little, "It's okay."

"No, it isn't. I shouldn't have taken Jane. I should have left her with you." Andrea makes eye contact with him, "I know how to properly fix things. Fix time differentials without creating a time loop. Dad just...does it. He just creates pockets and time threads. Everything he shouldn't do and I'm not sure if it's because he doesn't care, or doesn't realize he's doing it." She stands, moving around the confines of her ship, "I would even go as far as to saying he's the reason all the threads with Mom happened in the first place."

"Did you tell him?" He plays with a small toy that his daughter handed him, "Or your mum? Spent all that time looking for her and you hardly even talk to her."

"You wouldn't understand, Langer."

"It upsets her sometimes. I see it in her eyes." Clyde answers quietly, "And...whatever went on with Sky...there's a whole bunch of things that you should have outright told her and you chose not to. She's a grown woman who can take more than you could even imagine...way more than she lets on." He pauses letting silence envelop the room before continuing, "I know about everything you've seen in the other dimensions, but...none of them are this one. Live for now, not fear what was then."

Andrea nods a little, "You're right."

"I usually am. Magic Clyde Ball. Just ask me anything. I've a wealth of knowledge."

"I didn't say all that." She hums a chuckle, feeling the ship land in its usual space. "Ready to hear the wrath?"

"Your Dad will understand what you did, but not so much your Mum. Just be ready for that, eh?" Clyde stands, lifting his daughter as well as he takes his wife's hand.

"I'm always ready, Langer." Andrea smirks, leaving the ship with her family.


End file.
